0107 Colorless Realm

"So."

Standing in front of the arched water mirror that shimmered with a faint blue light, Cliodna saw a circle of golden runes on the edge of the frame, glowing softly as if they were alive. She waited for the picture in the mirror to dim, indicating that the connection was ready. She turned her head slightly and looked back at Bryan, who was standing behind her with a complicated expression on his face. He seemed to be struggling with some inner conflict. She nodded at him calmly, showing no signs of any abnormality on her face.

"I'll wait for you in the temple at the center of the island, Mr. Watson."

After saying that, without waiting for Bryan's response, Cliodna stepped into the rippling water mirror with a determined look in her eyes. She completely disappeared from Bryan's magic sense, leaving only a faint trace of her fragrance in the air.

Huh- -

The cool night breeze on the plain brushed over Bryan's face, making him shiver slightly. The messy gray hair danced in front of his eyes under the starlight, but he didn't move at all. He just stared at the mirror surface with a gloomy look in his eyes. In his heart, he suddenly began to doubt his decision.

The trouble that this woman carried on her back was bigger than Bryan had imagined. He didn't know if his insistence on unraveling the prophecy and his connection with her was right or wrong.

But in the dark, there seemed to be a voice constantly urging him in his mind to enter the world behind the mirror, otherwise, he would regret it for life. This intuition that was almost like a prophecy was so irresistible that it prevented Bryan from wanting to turn around and leave.

Hum-

After hesitating for a long time, Bryan still stood in front of this Mirror of Erised that was unknown to the world. Along with the humming sound, the clear water mirror gradually blurred. A few seconds later, a picture appeared in front of Bryan's eyes, making his eyebrows rise high.

In the cold world, the snowflakes falling slowly from the gloomy sky looked like white feathers floating in the air. The biting cold wind outlined by the snowflakes seemed to be the only thing moving on the earth.

London was frozen in this rare cold winter for decades. The streets were covered with thick snow, and the buildings were shrouded in frost. The people who lived here had lost their vitality and hope. A woman in her early twenties, with her hair frozen into lumps, skinny and ragged, holding a swaddle, staggered through one street after another in the city. She had no destination, only a vague desire to survive.

The baby who was born less than two days ago in the swaddle tried to open his eyes and look at the sky. His cry was more like a whimper before dying. He was hungry and cold.

Bryan stood in front of Mirror of Erised and silently watched the flickering light and shadow in the water mirror. In his heart, he felt a surge of emotion that he had not felt for a long time. He thought he had forgotten that past event that had changed his life forever, but now it came back to him like magma erupting from a volcano. In a trance, he seemed to have returned to that moment when he first came to this world, which was also the most powerless and helpless moment of his life.

"Pitiful–"

With a soft chant disappearing in the wind, Bryan's voice also disappeared on this plain with brilliant stars. He felt different from Apparation where his whole body was stuffed into a soft tube. It was more like the feeling of crossing through time and space. He lost his sense of body and felt like only a ball of thoughts wrapped in bubbles was traveling through the sea of stars at an unimaginable speed.

In this state, time could not be perceived or measured. Bryan could only go with the flow. His 'vision' locked on that white light ball that seemed to never be reached in the far distance. It was like a beacon guiding him to his destination. His consciousness gradually lost in the boring howling sound.

Ding.

Like waking up from a dream of life, a sudden and crisp sound of wind chimes in his ears made Bryan's silent consciousness stir up waves again.

Bryan looked around instinctively, trying to find out where that sound came from. But except for the door behind him, there was nothing human-made in this boundless space. It was like a void that had no color or shape.

Suddenly, Bryan seemed to have noticed something. He quickly looked down at his feet and found that he was not standing on solid ground, but on a lake that was as boundless as the sea. However, this lake had no waves and was as calm as a mirror.

Bryan frowned and lifted his toes to touch the water surface. He expected to feel some resistance or splash, but he was surprised to find that the water surface was as hard as steel. He reflected his figure perfectly on the water surface without any flaws. The water surface rippled with one circle after another, creating a beautiful pattern. But after a few breaths, it returned to its original state. He continued to press down on the water surface with his toes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through the water surface or make any sound.

This was really a wonderful thing. He didn't use any magic himself, but he could stand steadily on the lake surface as if it was a solid floor. Just this point made him feel how extraordinary this secret place was.

Bryan lowered his head and quietly looked at the lake under his feet. He wanted to see through its mystery and find out what kind of magic was at work here. But suddenly his expression changed subtly. What caused his reaction was not the mirror-like flat lake surface, but his own reflection in the lake.

No color?!

Bryan's eyes widened and looked at his right hand holding the wand. And this look made him frown even more.

This was not an illusion or a mistake. The reflection of the water surface was indeed a true reflection. The self in his vision had indeed lost its color. Whether it was the old wizard robe that had faded over time, the fair palm that had touched many things, or the black wand that had accompanied him for many years, they all turned into a lifeless gray. It seemed that there was an invisible, mysterious and powerful force that stripped away the color of everything in this space!

In an instant, Bryan's eyes swirled wildly with curiosity. The strong and sharp magic poured out of his thin body endlessly, like a raging storm. The storm formed by the magic messed up the reflection in the lake, but it didn't cause any change to this secret place that had been silent and sleeping for countless years!

However, Bryan, who had raised his magic sense to the limit, still made some discoveries.

He randomly chose a direction and walked a distance on the lake surface. Then he stopped with a solemn expression.

"That's right. The time in this secret space is being disturbed by some powerful weird magic. The flow rate is not uniform. There are subtle changes."

Bryan muttered in a low voice, then looked at the empty world with his lips tightly pressed.

The woman Cliodna outside said that she would wait for him in the temple at the center of the island, but there was nothing here, neither an island nor a temple. There was only a vast lake and a starry sky above it. Where was he supposed to go?

"Ah ha, finally got in!"

Just as Bryan was pondering with his eyebrows down, a cheerful laugh from somewhere in front of him made Bryan's hair stand up and show a stunned expression.

Someone followed him into the secret place. How could it be possible?!

Bryan fixed his eyes and saw that in the mid-air twenty feet away from the lake surface, the calm space suddenly twisted like a distorted mirror. Then, a pair of strong and powerful hands reached out from the twisted space. They were covered with scars and tattoos, showing signs of many battles and adventures. He seemed to be breaking through some obstacle, struggling with his arms, and squeezing his body in bit by bit!

Bryan had seen many strange and bizarre things in his life, but nothing compared to what he was witnessing now. He was so stunned that he forgot to be alert and just gaped at the figure that was forming in mid-air.

Boom!

The figure landed on the ground with a deafening noise, unlike the soft splash that Bryan made when he hit the lake surface. It was as if a thunderbolt had struck the lake, sending waves flying in all directions. The figure's weight was so immense that it bent the lake surface, as if a giant celestial body was warping space with its gravity.

"This can't be. This is too absurd."

Bryan looked at the profile of the middle-aged wizard who wore a retro-style robe that seemed to belong to another era, had red hair that reached his shoulders and contrasted with his pale skin, and was unaffected by the mysterious force in the space. He spoke with a dull and incredulous tone.

Bryan recognized this legendary wizard. He had seen him in many magic books, biographies, paintings, and not only him, but probably every wizard in the world would know this man!

"Godric Gryffindor???"

patreon.com/FicFrenzy